Drug Safety Category Procurement Intelligence Report

The market for Science and Environmental Research and its sub-segments such as Drug Safety are at an interesting intersection. Proliferation of supply pool in regions such as APAC is expected to intensify supply market competition. This will compel service providers to compete on price points to attract new buyers, which is expected to offset some of the increase in procurement cost arising out of increasing supplier OPEX.

The market is rapidly showing signs of a great divide - at one extreme is a low-cost market with almost commoditized services and at the other end is the market for high cost specialized services. Drug Safety vendors are adopting starkly different business models and cost structures to address both the markets.

Data security and maintaining the confidentiality of client data and other sensitive information has towered over most of the discussions related to the category. Most geographies now have stringent regulations to protect data, privacy and confidentiality. Although suppliers now have a value proposition that puts data security and confidentiality at the forefront of marketing pitches, adherence to these standards have also increased OPEX of suppliers owing to increased compliance methods and requirement to change critical processes.

Trends like these and many others discussed in this report are necessitating a relook at the way Drug Safety is procured and the procurement cost saving opportunities that exist.

Sometimes, procurement functions are unable to timely alter their practices while responding to market conditions. Industry experts acknowledge that periodically reviewing procurement best practices and adopting learnings from across procurement categories can help procurement teams respond to market needs in a more agile way. This report combines our experience of other categories with Drug Safety procurement insights and hand picks best practices that can work for category managers delving in this market.

For example, Buyers must provide all key requirements in detail and ensure that service providers offer precise details regarding processes, systems, manpower, and expected outcome. Regular and effective communication between buyers and service providers are crucial during the contract formation phase, as well as across different phases of the project.

Buyers must clearly define clauses related to ownership of subcontracting services that are not part of their preferred partners' portfolios to ensure service consistency and control of sensitive data that are shared with subcontracted firms. The roles and responsibilities of subcontractors should be clearly defined by supplier to provide visibility on the quality of main service provider vs sub-contractors.

Buyers should engage with service providers through a rate card model. Within the rate card model, Customers are provided with rate cards that contain pre-determined prices for various activities and resources required for the project. Price is fixed based on per resource hour for different job roles. This pricing model ensures that there is optimal utilization of supplier's resources.

Drug Safety procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Drug Safety procurement. Some examples include: